LIGHTING

Photo courtesy of Rettler Corp .

By Mary Helen Sprecher

No offense to good fences , but good sports field lighting also makes good neighbors . In some cases , it makes much better neighbors .

“ With today ’ s solid state , direct lens lighting technology , spill , glare and glow ( more commonly grouped together as light pollution ) are significantly less problematic than yesterday ’ s technology ,” said Charles Dawson of Tencate . “ The old days of finding the local football game by following the glow in the sky have been eliminated .”

There is no doubt that sports lighting has evolved over the years . Incandescent lights were used first on fields and were followed by floodlights . High-intensity discharge ( HID ), also known as metal halide , came along a few decades later , but it wasn ’ t until after the millennium that pro sports began using LED .

When field managers consider updates to their overall facility , it is all but expected that they will look at their old HID lights — long the standard in many outdoor installations — with a critical eye and consider replacement with LED systems .

“ When properly designed , LED systems reduce glare and spill by up to 95 percent over HID systems , while allowing superior uniformities and centerline lighting on the playing surfaces ,” said Dawson .

Another advantage of LED is its ability to be remotely controlled ; many systems can be used via a mobile app that allows lights to be dimmed or shut off completely at a certain time . It is also far more energy efficient ; some vendors tout the annual savings as 75 % or more .

For those considering a new system , the following should be taken into account :

Design : Lighting systems should be designed in accordance with the facility . Lighting designs should conform to local building , electrical and safety codes . Other design considerations should include :

Energy efficiency : The fixture selection process should include an analysis of the energy efficiency to determine the most efficient light sources and fixtures . Lighting

Photo courtesy of Rettler Corp .

30 SportsField Management | November 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com